Ballybofey needs public toilets now, claims councillor

The delay in providing public toilets in Ballybofey has raised itself once again.

The chairman of the Lifford-Stranorlar Municipal District spoke on the issue at Thursday's meeting saying that action was needed over the coming months to put a facility in place.

Cllr Patrick McGowan has been highlighting the fact that the absence of public toilets in Donegal's third largest town not only sends out a poor image of the area but also affects a significant proportion of the population, including women, the elderly, the disabled, those with medical conditions tourists and those with babies and young children. 

Indeed in the past, he has expressed outrage that funding for these vital facilities has not materialised and highlighted the fact that the public lavatory is a basic norm for any civilised society.

At the meeting, Cllr McGowan said he knew that even though there was some movement in getting temporary modular toilets in place, progress needed to be made.

"This needs to be speeded up. The council needs to be proactive and not rely on proposals from third parties. If it can't be delivered through third parties, the council should just go out and purchase one and put it in there for the next two to three years until the Seed project delivers new public toilets. We can't go through another summer without them, something needs to be in place by the spring," he said.